The Orphan of China
Voltaire
- The
- Chinese
- tragedy,
- which
- they
- call
- "The
- Orphan,"
- was
- taken
- out
- of
- an
- immense
- collection
- of
- the
- theatrical
- performances
- of
- that
- nation,
- which
- has
- cultivated
- this
- art
- for
- about
- three
- thousand
- years
- before
- it
- was
- invented
- by
- the
- Greeks,
- the
- art
- of
- making
- living
- portraits
- of
- the
- actions
- of
- men,
- establishing
- schools
- of
- morality,
- and
- teaching
- virtue
- in
- dialogue
- and
- representation.
- For
- a
- long
- time
- dramatic
- poetry
- was
- held
- in
- esteem
- only
- in
- that
- vast
- country
- of
- China,
- separated
- from
- and
- unknown
- to
- the
- rest
- of
- the
- world,
- and
- in
- the
- city
- of
- Athens.
- Rome
- was
- unacquainted
- with
- it
- till
- above
- four
- hundred
- years
- afterwards.
- If
- you
- look
- for
- it
- among
- the
- Persians,
- or
- Indians,
- who
- pass
- for
- an
- inventive
- people,
- you
- will
- not
- find
- it
- there;
- it
- has
- never
- yet
- reached
- them.
- Asia
- was
- contented
- with
- the
- fables
- of
- Palpay
- and
- Lokman,
- which
- contain
- all
- their
- morality,
- and
- have
- instructed
- by
- their
- allegories
- every
- age
- and
- nation.-Voltaire
- Wilder
- Publications
- is
- a
- green
- publisher.
- All
- of
- our
- books
- are
- printed
- to
- order.
- This
- reduces
- waste
- and
- helps
- us
- keep
- prices
- low
- while
- greatly
- reducing
- our
- impact
- on
- the environment.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
